Wills are documents you’ll have to write one day or another, despite how grim this sounds. Sadly, with technical requirements, they’re so complicated that it’s easy to make mistakes that render them invalid. We’ve compiled 17 of the most common of these mistakes you need to avoid.
Having Invalid Witnesses
For a will in the US to be valid, there must be at least two witnesses, and they can’t be beneficiaries. Witnesses must also be physically present when the testator signs the will and have their signatures appended to it within 30 days!
Failing to Reconcile Beneficiaries
It’s a general rule that beneficiaries designated on non-probate assets, like life insurance policies and bank accounts, have a better claim to the asset than beneficiaries in a will. Hence, it’s important that you reconcile both so that your wishes are fulfilled in their entirety.
Forgetting to Name Executors
You have to name your executor in your will, or else the courts will appoint someone—potentially unfavorable—to manage your assets. Investopedia defines an executor as the entity that makes sure your intentions in a will are fulfilled appropriately, and this entity can either be a friend, family member, or professional service.
Not Making Appropriate Adjustments
Once you draw up your will, it’s also important that you make frequent adjustments to it. For instance, after years have passed, that “condo in Singapore” may have been sold, or an executor may have died, and leaving these terms in the will only cause problems for beneficiaries.
Failing to Sign Adjustments
After you have signed your will with valid witnesses, you can’t make adjustments like you would a regular document. You have to have changes validated again, just like when you signed the will in the first place. You can either add to the will (called codicils) or validate a new will entirely.
Ignoring Digital Assets
Many people also forget to consider their digital assets. This is a difficult problem to deal with, especially when it comes to modern assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs. It’s best to create (and physically store) instructions on how to access these digital assets on your personal wallets.
Not Having Conversations With Beneficiaries
The intentions of testators are often revealed to beneficiaries after death when the wills are read. Conflicts often arise because someone isn’t happy with what’s presented. To mitigate these conflicts, having conversations with beneficiaries explaining the reasoning behind your decisions is important.
Forgetting to Appoint a Guardian
So that you can assign who takes care of your children upon your death, especially if they’re very young, you must appoint a guardian in your will. If you don’t do this, the matter goes to the family court, and TheLawDictionary says that your children may even end up in foster care!
Skimming Over Step-Children
When you mention your “children” in a will, the law only recognizes your biological children and children you have formally adopted. Any child of a partner that’s not directly yours has to be specifically mentioned and provided for if you want them to get something out of your assets.
Using Strict Wording on Financial Assets
When you share volatile financial assets, it’s beneficial to disclose them as percentages rather than figures. For instance, think of having $5 million worth of stock, leaving $1 million for charity and the rest for your children. Arguments will arise if the asset’s value dramatically increases, so use percentages to adapt to change.
Leaving Out Pets
You must also make specific considerations for your pets, such as who gets to adopt them. Of course, whoever you choose to take care of your pets has to agree to do so, and you should have a written testament to this.
Ignoring Debts
The FTC reminds us of a bitter truth: “A person’s debts do not go away when they die; they are owed by and paid from the deceased person’s estate.” This is why it’s imperative to define how executors pay any debts off to guarantee satisfactory outcomes and avoid unhappy surprises.
Failing to Protect Original Copies
The executors of your estate can only administer it through the probate court if they have a certified copy of the will. Photocopies of the original aren’t valid enough, and multiple consents will be needed for them to be used. So, it’s important to safeguard original copies of your will, too!
Being Drunk or “High” When Writing a Will
This might sound strange, but most laws require that the testator of a will be of sound mind while writing it. When you’re drunk or mentally incapacitated by something during testations, you aren’t really in a “sound mind” to understand your affairs, so there could be arguments about the validity of the will.
Writing Your Will Yourself
When you write your will yourself, you save some money, but it’s best to have legal assistance by your side. Wills are highly complicated documents, so Forbes explains that writing your will yourself only costs your family more time and legal fees to treat legal issues around interpretations and validity.
Including Burial Wishes in Wills
On average, it takes three months or longer before wills are read or the beneficiaries are notified. Hence, including your burial wishes in your will would be a waste, as no one knows of them until weeks or months after your funeral. Just create a separate document and hand it over to your lawyer.
Procrastinating
Finally, we understand if you have reservations about drawing up your will prior to your senior years—it’s akin to expecting death, right? Nonetheless, life comes with some terrible surprises, and it’s better to at least have control over where your assets go rather than leave it for intestate laws to decide.
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